Department for Transport

Transport: North of England

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in each of the years 2015 to 2025, what is (1) the planned expenditure on (a) rail, and (b) road, improvements in the north of England, and (2) the planned annual budget for economic activity provided to the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As outlined in the existing Road Investment Strategy, announced in 2014, the total investment in major schemes on the strategic road network in the North (taken to be the North West, North East and Yorkshire) between April 2015 and March 2021 is expected to be about £2.9 billion. Construction of some of these schemes will continue beyond 2021 so the overall spend is expected to be £4.8 billion. Over £2.5 billion has also been committed to local transport projects and improvements to 2021. In addition, substantial amounts of funding have been allocated to road maintenance on both the strategic and local road networks in the north.The Government has ambitious plans for rail which is why Network Rail has been allocated a record £38 billionfor the period from 2014-2019. The Secretary of State for Transport has asked Sir Peter Hendy, as the new chair of Network Rail, to report to him this autumn with a proposal for re-planning the Control Period 5 enhancements in a way that is efficient, deliverable and affordable. Until that work is complete, the spending profile in any given year is not available.The Government will update its plans following the Spending Review, which will conclude on 25 November 2015.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government: Fossil Fuels

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether in the light of the recent advice from the Bank of England they are considering giving any urgent advice to local authorities about the case for divesting from fossil fuels.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The prudential capital finance system gives authorities wide local discretion on how to invest their surplus funds.When setting their investments strategy, local authorities are required to have regard to Local Government Investments Guidance published by my Department. This guidance states that a prudent investment policy will prioritise Security (protecting the sum invested from loss), Liquidity (making sure the funds invested are readily available when needed) and Yield (maximising the return) in that order.When having regard to this Guidance we would expect local authorities to ensure that they remain aware of all relevant information, including the recent Bank of England advice. We have no plans to provide specific additional guidance to local authorities in this area.

Housing: Derelict Land

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will announce proposals for the use of the proposed £1 billion fund to support brownfield housing schemes.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The operation and focus of the Brownfield Fund are currently being developed and details will be available when the Fund is launched.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what official development assistance and non-official development assistance funds have been allocated under the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund since April 2015 for each partner country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The thematic breakdown of Conflict, Stability and Security Fund spending was provided in a Written Ministerial Statement of 12 March 2015 by the Minister for Government Policy at the Cabinet Office, which was repeated in the House of Lords on the same day by the noble Lord Wallace of Saltaire (HLW379).For reasons of national security, we cannot provide specific details of allocations for partner countries.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Languages: Education

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which stated that the United Kingdom forfeits £48 billion in lost exports because of its lack of language skills, what steps are they taking to promote the importance of language skills.

Lord Maude of Horsham: The report, building on work commissioned by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) from Professor James Foreman-Peck at Cardiff University, reviewed the evidence and quantified the impact of language skill deficiencies on UKtrade performance.Professor Foreman-Peck’s analysis showed that UK firms may be missing out on international opportunities because of inadequate information which in turn stemmed from poor language skills and insufficient knowledge of the cultures of other countries. Professor Foreman-Peck estimated that these missed opportunities were equivalent to around 3.5% of national income (£48bn). This estimate does not refer to just exports as it is based on total trade opportunities which include imports.HMG has long recognised that there are barriers to trade and that Government has a role to play in helping firms overcome barriers to trade such as language skills and cultural awareness. UKTI provides a range of services to help companies address barriers to trade including language and culture issues in order to break into new or additional markets, or to increase their overseas presence. UKTI has a network of domestic and overseas trade advisors who help firms navigate barriers and trade internationally. The services offered by UKTI include bespoke help and advice plus a number of services. Amongst these services there are two specifically aimed at helping firms tackle language barriers. The Export Communications Review is a bespoke service to help companies address language barriers in all forms of communication including spoken, written, visual and digital; and “Web Optimisation for International Trade” are workshops that help firms make their websites fit for international business. In 2015/16 over 50,000 firms are expected to benefit from UKTI support; of which over 700 firms are expected to take advantage of the Export Communications Review Service and UKTI will run over 70 Web Optimisation Workshops.UKTI has also published a guide for exporters on overcoming language and cultural barriers. Over seven thousand have been distributed to date. The language guide also signposts exporters to the various professional bodies that represent the language industries including translators, interpreters and linguists.

Department for International Development

Overseas Aid

Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the United Kingdom's overseas development budget is distributed via the European Union; and what amount that represents.

Baroness Verma: The latest Statistics on International Development (published in 2014) show that in 2013, UK ODA attributed from the Development Share of the EU Budget was £813 million, and ODA contributions to the off-budget European Development Fund were £407 million. Combined this is around 11% of UK ODA.

Department for Education

Teachers: Training

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 17 July (HL558), what assessment they have made of the impact of the declining number of professionally trained teachers in primary schools on classroom discipline and pupil behaviour at secondary level; and whether they intend to undertake any research on that issue.

Lord Nash: Between 2010 and 2014 the full-time equivalent (FTE) number of teachers in primary schools in England has increased by 19,100 (from 196,400 FTEs to 215,500 FTEs). This represents an increase of 9.7% since 2010.The full-time equivalent number of qualified teachers in primary schools in England has increased over the same period by 17,100 FTEs – from 192,500 FTEs in 2010 to 209,600 FTEs in 2014.We are determined that every child is able to work and study hard without disruption. We have given head teachers more powers to tackle poor behaviour, including strengthening their powers to search pupils and the removal of the requirement to give parents 24 hours’ written notice of after-school detention. We have revised and simplified advice to schools on promoting good behaviour and maintaining discipline, ensuring they have the confidence to exclude pupils when it is necessary.Now we are going further by appointing behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead a review to ensure new teachers are fully trained in dealing with disruptive children and also consider all of the challenges of managing behaviour in schools.

Secondary Education: First Aid

Lord Condon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage first aid training in secondary schools, and whether, in particular, they are taking steps to offer CPR training, which is offered free of charge by some volunteer organisations.

Lord Nash: All schools are required to teach a balanced and broadly based curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and prepares them for adult life. The new national curriculum focuses on the essential knowledge so that teachers can design a wider school curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils.Schools have the freedom to teach subjects or topics such as First Aid training beyond the prescribed curriculum to ensure that children receive a rounded education.The Government welcomes the work of expert organisations such as the British Red Cross, St John Ambulance and the British Heart Foundation to support schools in this aspect of teaching and are currently working with the sector to provide information to young people about first aid, CPR and how to deal with medical emergencies.

Free School Meals

Lord Knight of Weymouth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish the Small Schools Taskforce report relating to the provision of free school meals in small schools.

Lord Nash: A decision has not yet been made on the publication of the taskforce report.

Ministry of Justice

Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in relation to the decision to award MTCNovo the contract to run Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, what assessment they have made of the experience that company has in running residential establishments that care for vulnerable children; and whether MTCNovo, including its partners or significant subcontractors, has been found to have breached human rights or equality legislation in the last three years, either in the United Kingdom or abroad.

Lord Faulks: MTC and their main partner Amey were subject to robust and rigorous assessment at the pre-qualification stage of the competition. This included a thorough examination of health and safety, equalities, human rights and discrimination policies, and a requirement to demonstrate their experience of managing children and young people.There were no findings of a breach in human rights or equality legislation.

Ali Mohammed al-Nimr

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review their commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia in the light of the sentencing of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr to death by crucifixion.

Lord Faulks: I refer the Right Reverend to the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor’s statement of 13 October 2015. The bid to provide a training needs analysis to the Saudi Arabian prison service under the Just Solutions international (JSi) brand has now been withdrawn. As has previously been announced, Just Solutions international, the commercial arm of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), has ceased to operate. This is in line with our ambition to ensure the department’s resources are firmly focused on domestic priorities.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

The Lord Bishop of Derby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many incidents of benefit fraud relating to human trafficking and organised crime have resulted in a successful prosecution between 2010 and the most recent date for which figures are available.

Lord Faulks: It is not possible to identify from Ministry of Justice centrally held data whether a defendant proceeded against for an offence related to benefit fraud has a link to human trafficking or organised crime. This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Just Solutions International

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation, Rehabilitation and Sentencing on 9 September (HC5660), how many National Offender Management Service Staff were delivering commercial work for Just Solutions International; and of those, how many had been doing so full-time.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation, Rehabilitation and Sentencing on 9 September (HC5660), when Just Solutions International was established and when it began its operations.

Lord Faulks: Just Solutions international (JSi) was established in 2012 and formally launched in 2013. In September this year, it was announced that JSi would cease to operate.3.5 full time staff worked under the JSi brand. These staff also worked on other core business within the National Offender Management Service. An additional five staff were temporarily seconded from the Public Sector Prison Service in March 2015. All staff have been reallocated to focus on domestic priorities.

Ministry of Defence

Syria: Military Aid

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British military personnel (1) have been sent to train Syrian opposition fighters since January 2015, and (2) are currently engaged in training Syrian opposition fighters.

Earl Howe: A total of 34 British military personnel have been involved in training Syrian opposition fighters since January 2015. There are currently 21 British military personnel deployed for the purposes of training.

Syria: Military Aid

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many Syrian opposition fighters have been trained by British military personnel since January 2015, (2) what military equipment has been supplied to them and by whom, and (3) how many are actively involved in military operations at this time.

Earl Howe: Since January 2015, 268 Syrian opposition fighters have been trained at sites where British military personnel are training. Of these 268, 180 have completed their training and the majority of that number have returned to Syria. The 88 who left prior to completing their training were either removed for disciplinary reasons or opted out of the programme. Whilst they might not all have been specifically trained by a British trainer, it is likely that most had interaction with a member of a British training team at some point during their tenure.The UK has not supplied military equipment to the Syrian opposition fighters. We do not comment on the provision of equipment by other coalition partners.We cannot say with certainty how many of the trained Syrian opposition fighters are actively involved in military operations.

Syria: Military Aid

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Syrian opposition fighters trained by British military personnel have defected or surrendered to Syrian Islamist groups.

Earl Howe: We have no evidence to suggest that any Syrian opposition fighters trained by British military personnel have defected to extremist Syrian Islamist groups. Some of the Syrian opposition fighters have been detained by extremist groups.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Environment Protection

Baroness Young of Old Scone: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what resources are being allocated to prevent the spread of pests and diseases affecting the natural environment, including trees and woodland, and what assessment they have made of whether they are sufficient.

Baroness Young of Old Scone: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure collaboration across all government departments regarding the implementation of biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of pests and diseases affecting trees and woodland.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Protecting our country from plant and tree pests and diseases is important for our economy, the environment and society and is one of Defra’s strategic priorities.In 2013 the independent Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce assessed the threat to the health of our plants from pests and diseases and made eight recommendations to strengthen our approach, which were all accepted by Defra. The Plant Biosecurity Strategy sets out our plans to enhance existing risk-based activity and to develop new and innovative approaches such as the now publicly available plant health risk register.As part of our risk-based approach, agreed management approaches for pests and diseases are periodically reviewed so that we can ensure our responses are appropriate and lessons are learned for the future.Defra’s spend on plant health policies is now around £30 million per year, which includes policies to protect tree health.Defra is the lead department for plant and tree health. We published the Tree Health Management Plan in April 2014, setting out priority areas for action and outlining how the Government is working with others to manage tree pests and diseases. We work with other Government departments and agencies, as well as stakeholders from across industry and non-government organisations to address different plant and tree health issues. This work includes a programme of training and awareness-raising about biosecurity risks for other Government Departments and stakeholders such as food retailers.

Common Agricultural Policy

Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current annual cost of the Common Agricultural Policy; and what proportion is contributed by the United Kingdom.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Common Agricultural Policy imposes two types of costs - the taxpayer costs from contributing to the EU budget and regulatory costs to industry which arise from CAP Regulations.The total EU annual financial cost of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2015 is €55 billion.The UK contributes over €16 billion to the total annual EU budget. CAP accounts for just under 40% of the EU budget.

Government Departments: Environment Protection

Baroness Parminter: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the 2014–15 Greening Government Commitments report is in preparation; and whether that document will report on the commitments set out in the 2012 Natural Environment White Paper.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The 2014-15 Annual Report on Government’s progress on the Greening Government Commitments is in preparation and expected to be published later this year.The Greening Government Commitments to take action on sustainable procurement and to report transparently on actions to address biodiversity and reducing the environmental impacts of food and catering services are aligned with the 2011 Natural Environment White Paper commitments. Reporting on both of these issues is therefore routinely incorporated in each year’s Greening Government Commitment report, including the upcoming 2014/15 report.

Forests

Baroness Parminter: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to address reductions in woodland planting rates.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: £31m per year of new RDP funding will be spent on forestry, with £13m being spent on woodland management and £18m on new planting. By investing in woodlands, Countryside Stewardship will help us fulfil the Government’s manifesto commitment to plant another 11 million trees by supporting the creation of around 24,711 acres of new woodland.

Home Office

Alcoholic Drinks

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Institute of Alcohol Studies' response to the Institute of Economic Affairs' report Closing Time: Who’s killing the British Pub?, whether they plan to commission an independent, comprehensive review of the cost of alcohol use to society.

Lord Bates: The Government has no plans to commission a further review of costs.

Administration of Justice: Saudi Arabia

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Home Office and the Saudi authorities on justice, security and policing.

Lord Bates: The Home Office does not publish security co-operation agreements with international partners as to do so would undermine bilateral relations and prejudice our ability to conduct work under these agreements.

Private Investigators: Licensing

Baroness Henig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the statement by Lord Bates on 26 March (HL Deb, cols 1528–9) that licensing for private investigators would be introduced early in the next Parliament, what is the timetable for the introduction of licensing for private investigators.

Lord Bates: The Government is committed to ensuring the integrity of the private security industry and this includes private investigators.In July, the Government committed to a review (formerly triennial review) of the Security Industry Authority. That review may make further recommendations for legislative change which the Government will then consider.

Madeleine McCann

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 16 September (HL2087), whether they have established success criteria for the budgeted spend of £2 million for Operation Grange in 2015–16.

Lord Bates: The Home Office funds the cost of Operation Grange from the Special Grant budget. The level of funding provided to the Metropolitan Police in relation to this investigation is reviewed regularly and will continue to be monitored. The Metropolitan Police keep the Home Office informed of the progress of the investigation through regular updates. These include an assessment of the need for continued funding which is linked to whether there remain continued lines of investigation to pursue.

Missing Persons: Children

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 16 September (HL2087), whether they have any plans to spend an amount equivalent to the spending on Operation Grange in 2015–16 on the search for Ben Needham, or other missing children; and if not, why not.

Lord Bates: This Government is clear that unresolved missing children cases, like that of Ben Needham, are never closed and will continue to support the Greek authorities in its investigations. In 2014, South Yorkshire Police requested a Special Grant payment of £700k to support its investigation into the disappearance of Ben Needham. This funding was approved. No decisions have been made in respect of police funding for 2016/17, but any request from South Yorkshire Police will be considered carefully.

HM Treasury

Public Sector: Living Wage

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of public sector employees currently earning less than the National Living Wage.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: At Summer Budget 2015, the Chancellor announced a new National Living Wage which is a compulsory increase in pay for all workers over 25. It will come into effect in April 2016 at £7.20, 50p above the current National Minimum Wage. The Government will ask the Low Pay Commission to recommend the level of the National Living Wage in each subsequent year, asking them to increase the NLW to 60% of median earnings by 2020. It is estimated that by 2020 approximately 200,000 public sector workers will benefit directly as a result of the National Living Wage.

Public Sector: Living Wage

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they expect the cost of increasing public sector salaries to the level of the National Living Wage to be met from within the overall 1 per cent pay increase for such workers announced in the Budget.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: At Summer Budget 2015, it was announced that the Government will fund public sector workforces for an average pay award of 1 per cent for 4 years from 2016-17.The impact of the new National Living Wage will be considered during the Spending Review as part of an overall assessment of spending pressures across the public sector.

Apprentices: Taxation

Lord Stephen: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of how much would be raised annually by a levy of 0.5 per cent on PAYE costs, in a similar manner to the Construction Industry Training Board levy, from (1) private sector employers, and (2) public sector employers, in Scotland.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Treasury has made no estimate of the revenue impact of introducing a levy on employer PAYE costs in Scotland.

Public Expenditure

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total budget in each of the last five available financial years for (1) the Ministry of Defence, and (2) the Department for International Development.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Ministry of Defence expenditure (Total DEL excluding depreciation) for the last 5 years was:2010-11: £37.355bn2011-12: £37.157bn2012-13: £34.259bn2013-14: £34.450bn2014-15: £34.368bnThe Department for International Development expenditure (Total DEL excluding depreciation) for the last 5 years was:2010-11: £7.467bn2011-12: £7.813bn2012-13: £7.758bn2013-14: £10.020bn2014-15: £9.650bn

Cabinet Office

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Security Council has discussed the strategic implications of the closure of the Redcar steelworks to the long-term security interests of the United Kingdom.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees is generally not disclosed.

Department of Health

Hypothyroidism

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to help patients with undiagnosed hypothyroidism who present clinical signs and symptoms of that condition, but are refused any treatment as their blood test results remain normal.

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any plans to amend the diagnosis of hypothyroidism, which under current guidance is based solely on a blood test.

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress is being made on the initiative to achieve greater harmonisation on approaches to diagnosing hypothyroidism internationally.

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any plans to amend the treatment of hypothyroidism by including thyroid hormone combination therapies other than treatment by levothyroxine in the standard of care.

Lord Prior of Brampton: A blood test measuring hormone levels is the only accurate way to find out if there is a thyroid problem.Best practice on the identification and management of hypothyroidism has been set out by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in its guidance, The Diagnosis and Management of Primary Hypothyroidism, first published in 2008. The guidance, which is attached, was developed on behalf of key organisations, including the British Thyroid Association (BTA), the British Thyroid Foundation (BTF) and the Society for Endocrinology (SOE), and is endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners. A copy of the UK Guidelines is attached.The RCP guidance sets out that the only validated method of testing thyroid function is through a blood sample, which must include measurement of the levels of thyroid‐stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4) in serum, as recommended in the UK Guidelines for the Use of Thyroid Function Tests published by the BTA.The RCP guidelines set out that overwhelming evidence supports the use of thyroxine hormone replacement (T4 or tetra-iodothyronine) alone in the treatment of hypothyroidism, with this usually being prescribed as levothyroxine. However, this does not prevent clinicians considering other forms of thyroid hormone replacement if appropriate.The guidance remains up-to-date and a statement from the BTA Executive Committee supporting the existing guidelines was published in May 2015 in Clinical Endocrinology and endorsed by the Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine, the BTF, the RCP and the SOE. The full statement is attached and available online at:http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cen.12824/fullRegarding international guidance and harmonisation on approaches to testing, the existing United Kingdom guidelines have now been supported by new guidance published in the United States of America which draws on the latest research and available evidence on the management of the condition. The USA guidance also includes a section on the ethics of prescribing thyroid hormone combination therapies when the potential long-term harmful effects are not known.



Clinical Endocrinology paper
(PDF Document, 94.04 KB)




Royal College of Physicians guidance
(PDF Document, 344.27 KB)




UK Guidelines Thyroid Function Tests
(PDF Document, 558.1 KB)